Below is the abstract of “ALI Data Privacy: Overview and Black Letter Text,” available for download on SSRN.

In this Article, the Reporters for The American Law Institute Principles of the Law, Data Privacy provide an overview of the project as well as the text of its black letter. The Principles aim to provide a blueprint for policymakers to regulate privacy comprehensively and effectively.

The United States has long remained an outlier in privacy law. While numerous nations have enacted comprehensive privacy laws, the United States has clung stubbornly to a fragmented, inconsistent patchwork of laws. Moreover, there long has been a vast divide between U.S. and European Union (EU) approaches to regulating privacy—a divide that many consider to be unbridgeable.

The Principles propose comprehensive privacy principles for legislation that are consistent with key foundations in the U.S. approach to privacy but also better align the United States with the EU. Additionally, the Principles breathe new life into the moribund and oft-criticized U.S. notice-and-choice approach, which has remained firmly rooted in U.S. law. Drawing from a vast array of privacy laws and frameworks, and with a balance of innovation, practicality, and compromise, the Principles aim to guide policymakers in advancing U.S. privacy law.